Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Yes there are things growing in my kitchen....

I have been fascinated with fermented things for most of the summer. Have I actually gotten to it yet? No. A couple of weeks ago one of my FB friends have me a SCOBY, which is essentially a symbiotic culture of mold and bacteria used to ferment drinks. Yes, you heard me.

No, I am not making wine on my kitchen counter.

I am (hopefully) making kombucha, a fermented tea drink.

So, in the next 7 days, hopefully this massive jar on my counter will turn into a fermented drink of goodness.

You can see the SCOBY floating around like some kind of alien creature (it really does look like an alien creature).

Why eat/drink fermented things? Well, there's lots of science behind it and far better explanations out there than I can give. Mostly it has to do with the way of eating that we have followed for our entire existence, that the bacteria produced in fermented foods is required by our guts for healthy living and helps protect us from getting sick. I have very annoying eczema which presents mostly on my hands, as well as multiple moderately annoying GI issues (bad teeth, sensitive and often upset tummy and intestines). My eczema is directly related to my gut issues. So this is part of working to heal my guts. I'll get into the other parts later.

In 7 days I will start tasting it to see if it's ready. Then I'll mix it with some fruit juice and pop it in the fridge to drink whenever and make a new batch. If it's successful, I'll post another picture. If it moulds off and dies, the whole thing goes in the garbage. Ick.

About Me

I work in an extremely busy and challenging neonatal intensive care unit. I work a full time rotating shift work schedule and also pick up the odd OT. I don't believe in dieting or counting calories, I believe in whole foods, eating well and enjoying what I eat! I believe that everything I put in my mouth must have a purpose: it must fuel me, nourish me or just taste amazing.